Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus adopting an electrophotographic image forming method.
Description of the Related Art
Typically, an image forming apparatus needs to have toner supplied thereto and maintenance to be performed on the various process members thereof. There is a process cartridge system that is in practical use in which, in order to facilitate supply of toner and maintenance, a photosensitive drum, a charging member, a developing member, a cleaning member, and the like are formed into a cartridge inside a frame. With the above, a process cartridge (hereinafter, referred to as a cartridge) can be detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an apparatus main body). As a result, the maintenance of the apparatus can be carried out by the user and an image forming apparatus with excellent usability can be provided. Accordingly, the process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.
Furthermore, a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a transfer member, an intermediate transfer body, or a conveying belt that mounts a cartridge in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction has been proposed. In such a case, upon mounting the cartridge in the apparatus main body, when there is a friction between the intermediate transfer body and a photosensitive drum provided in the cartridge, a condition of a surface of the photosensitive drum or a condition of a surface of the intermediate transfer body changes, becoming a cause of image degradation.
In response to the above issue and as a method of preventing friction from occurring, a technique is known in which a cartridge support member inside an apparatus main body is moved by being interlocked with the opening and closing of a lateral cover of an image forming apparatus and in which a process cartridge is moved and lifted/lowered between an image forming position and a detaching position (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-220824).
In the configuration in which the process cartridge is moved and lifted up inside the apparatus main body so as to position the process cartridge at the image forming position, an urging member is used to support the process cartridge and to abut a photosensitive drum against an intermediate transfer body at an appropriate contact pressure. Accordingly, when abutting the photosensitive drum against the intermediate transfer body, the photosensitive drum may be rubbed against the intermediate transfer body and there may be an impact on the photosensitive drum or the intermediate transfer body; as a result, disadvantageously, a surface condition of at least either one of the photosensitive drum and the intermediate transfer body may be changed, becoming a cause of image degradation. Accordingly, a configuration in which the friction between the photosensitive drum and the intermediate transfer body is suppressed and in which occurrence of image degradation is suppressed is in need.